Miss Universe 2011 Crown Dashes American Dreams

Hopes were high that Alyssa Campanella, Miss USA, just might take home the crown during the Miss Universe 2011 pageant tonight in the event's 60th year. She was a frontrunner, and with the 10th anniversary of 9/11 yesterday, many felt that it would have been a nice victory for our nation. But it wasn't meant to be, and instead Leila Lopes from Angola beat out the other 88 Miss Universe 2011 contestants and was crowned the winner.

Lopes is lovely (which is to be expected), and she knows it ... in a good way. When asked what part of her body she would change if she could, the business student gave a strong answer during the interview portion that rang with self confidence.

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Thank God I'm very satisfied with the way God created me and I wouldn't change a thing. I consider myself a woman endowed with inner beauty. I have acquired many wonderful principles from my family and I intend to follow these for the rest of my life.

We'll see if she still feels this way at 40, but it was a solid answer for the night. If she'd said her little left toe or something, I'd want to smack her.

Unfortunately, for all the high hopes we had for Campanella, she didn't even come close, missing even the Top 10. And here we finally had a scandal-free girl in the game. And that red hair -- how could the judges not have fallen in love? Apparently, it just wasn't enough.

Disappointing, but we can't win them all, and Lopes is gorgeous and a seemingly strong role model for women around the world. Plus, she's the first ever winner from her country, which is just cool. The runners-up were Olesia Stefanko of Ukraine, followed by Miss Brazil, Miss Philippines, and Miss China. Congratulations, ladies.

What did you think of the choice of winner for Miss Universe 2011? Did you watch?